Mario Kart 8 Will Bring The Popular Karting Series To Wii U In Spring 2014

[E3 2013] A new Nintendo console wouldn’t feel right if there wasn’t a Mario Kart game built specifically for it, and Nintendo is announcing a new Mario Kart will be making its way to the Wii U in spring 2014.

The trailer Nintendo unveiled during its E3-centric Nintendo Direct shows a lot of familiar faces in the Mario Kart series as Mario, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach and Luigi can all be seen riding around their respective karts. Mario Kart 8 will allow players to drive around in karts, briefly use gliders and propellers to make their way across large gaps and underwater levels, and will also introduce a new hover kart gameplay mechanic which will activate automatically during certain points in stages. Mario Kart 8 will also bring back bikes, which debuted in Mario Kart Wii.

At the end of the Mario Kart 8 presentation, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said the game will include the “best collection of modes yet” for online play as not only will players be able to battle one another in online multiplayer, but they will be able to interact as well through Miiverse.